superman

Art from ‘Wonder Woman by George Pérez: Vol. 1″ by George Pérez, Bruce D. Patterson, and Tatjana Wood.

Gobbledygeek episode 344, “Wonder Woman by George Pérez: Vol. 1 (feat. Heather Wiley),” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

In the winding, physics-defying halls of Mount Olympus, the idea for the noble Amazon race was hatched among the gods. In the presumably plain, ordinary offices of DC Comics circa 1987, the idea to reboot one of their most iconic heroes was hashed out by George Pérez, Greg Potter, Len Wein, Karen Berger, and more. And on this typically long, rambling podcast, Paul and Arlo continue this year’s superheroic Four-Color Flashback by discussing Wonder Woman by George Pérez: Vol. 1, collecting the first 14 issues of Diana’s post-Crisis series. Heather Wiley joins them to discuss how Pérez revitalized the character by leaning hard into her mythological aspects; why it’s important that the series touches on uncomfortable subject matter; the minute details that make Pérez such a terrific artist; and why this run hasn’t lodged its place in the public consciousness alongside The Dark Knight Returns and Man of Steel. Plus, Heather fails to keep quiet about Hush, and Paul reads comics.

Next: we inch closer to oblivion with Wesley Mead, who joins us once more to discuss Chris Carter’s seminal sci-fi series The X-Files. This time? It’s season 9, the original final season. So. Yeah.

Gobbledygeek episode 288, “Stay Evil, Dollface (feat. Scott Stamper),” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

Suicide is painless, so they say. But is Suicide Squad? That’s up to Paul and Arlo to decide, as they slather on clown makeup and hide their fuzzy pink unicorns to discuss the third film in the DC Extended Universe. Joining these Mostly Marvel Men is DC fan and opinionated tweeter Scott Stamper, known to the common folk as @DerfelMarek. Does the movie live up to its hype? Does it point to a bold new direction for the DCEU following the disappointments of Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice? As usual, there is disagreement. Whod’a thunk it. Plus, Paul and Scott dive into the 2015 animated film Justice League: Gods and Monsters while Arlo listens.

Next: original Gobbler and proud member of the Three Heathens, Joseph Lewis stops by to talk about his feature directorial debut A/V.

Gobbledygeek episode 271, “Paul v Arlo: Kenn of Justice (feat. Kenn Edwards),” is available for listening or download right here and on iTunes here.

In this corner: striking terror into the hearts of cowardly and superstitious criminals, a creature of the night, black, terrible, it’s the Dark Knight of Gotham City…Batman! And in this corner: faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, unable to get his own sequel not stuffed with a thousand other characters, it’s the Last Son of Krypton…Superman! With Zack Snyder’s hands in the toybox, they must now v each other in preparation for the dawn of next year’s Justice League. Kenn Edwards, host of So Let’s Get to the Point, joins Paul and Arlo to discuss the superheroic epic Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Is Snyder’s Superman a Randian superman? How does Ben Affleck fare as the Caped Crusader? Is the film as much of a mess as you may have heard? The boys get to the bottom of all this, not to mention another of Kenn’s metatextual monologues. Plus, Arlo’s had a name change, and Paul saw Hamilton on Broadway.

Next: poet Donora Hillard joins us to discuss her new book Jeff Bridges. Plus a discussion of Starman!

Gobbledygeek episode 176, “A Fetid, Pestilent Marshland (feat. Jason Tabrys),” is available for listening or download right here, and on iTunes here.

Koko the Showfucker is back and he’s prepared to fuck the show right into–well, okay, a little of that happens, but for the most part, Jason Tabrys’ return to Gobbledygeek is a little more focused than normal. Among the topics discussed are the Veronica Mars movie and its abundance of fan-service, the Cosmos controversy, and the fact that Captain America 3 and Batman & Superman: Friendship Is Magic opening on the same day is going to keep the idiotic flames of the Marvel/DC fan war raging long into the night. Then there’s the big one: When you hate something–say, oh, The Big Bang Theory–is it fair to continue harshly criticizing it on social media even when you know someone who likes it? The (different, conflicting) answer(s) may surprise you (or not)!

Next: you might remember the Four Color Flashback series AJ did on the blog about the Claremont/Byrne Uncanny X-Men, or he and Paul dissecting Preacher. Well, we’re bringing that feature to the show starting next week. At the end of each month, we’ll be discussing one volume of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, and spoiler alert: Paul and AJ really, really love this comic. Joining us for this introductory episode is Broken Magic author, The Deli Counter of Justice co-editor, and Brony for life Eric Sipple.

Note: This episode has been available on iTunes since Friday, and should have been up on the blog sooner. However, one of your friendly neighborhood geeks–the one whose byline is directly above this–is a lazy good-for-nothin’ (who was also in a wedding this weekend). So, with that out of our way…

Gobbledygeek episode 144, “Two Robin Hoods and a Van Alden (feat. Eric Sipple),” is available for listening or download right here, and on iTunes here.

A rocket hurtles from the doomed planet Krypton, crashing to Earth and delivering the child that would one day save us all. But first, he has to break stuff. Lots of stuff. And our fearless co-hosts, and returning champion guest Eric Sipple, talk smack about him behind his back as they review the explosive Zack Snyder film Man of Steel. Also, kind words are exchanged about the new series Orphan Black, and Neil Gaiman has written another book. Is it good? If you don’t know the answer to that, you’ve probably been living in the Phantom Zone.

Next: another “we don’t have a plan so we’re just going to improvise and mug for the mics” episode. Good times.

Gobbledygeek episode 128, “What’s Your Heroic Damage,” is available for listening or download right here, and on iTunes here.

What does it mean to be a hero? Does “escapism” have to be a derogatory term? Can good guys be as compelling as their supporting casts and villains? To explore these questions, Paul and AJ are joined by friend of the show/Broken Magic author Eric Sipple and TV writer/producer (of Angel, among other things) Mere Smith. There’s Angel talk, obviously, but also some Spider-Man and some Rurouni Kenshin, plus plenty of Eric-bashing.

Next: Rob Hunt and Joanna Gaskell from Standard Action return to tell us all about season 2!

Gobbledygeek episode 77, “Buy, Buy, Buy,” is available for listening or download right here.

If there’s anything we learned from A Charlie Brown Christmas, it’s that Christmas has become far too commercialized and that the true spirit of Christmas isn’t in the gifts that you receive. So, going entirely against that lesson from our childhoods, we’ve concocted the second annual Gobbledygeek Gift Guide! We’ll clue you into everything you should buy for that nerd in your life, be they into movies (The Tree of Life! Hanna!), music (Nirvana! Pink Floyd!), games (Arkham City! Skyrim!), or more. We also leaven all the cynical buying and spending with genuine, heartfelt appreciations of the movies We Bought a Zoo, Hugo, and The Muppets, plus some Formspring questions and an e-mail.

Next: We continue our Christmas celebration with a discussion of Gremlins. Because who doesn’t like to think of Phoebe Cates’ dad getting stuck in the chimney when they’re putting up the tree?